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I was 19 years old when I found myself battling deep anxiety and depression, leading to years of cocaine, speed and then ketamine addiction. I was also struggling to find a healthy expression of sexuality in a patriarchal and objectifying world. My response was to find sugar daddies who would at least benefit me materially in exchange, compensating for my own dissociated relationship to sex. I was, seemingly, on a path to self-destruction.

I was drawn to Arise Festival by the big name bands. Rising Appalachia. Polish Ambassador. Wild Light. What I did not expect to discover was a diverse array of small, emerging bands and performers from across Colorado and the nation – many of whose names never even landed on the official festival schedule. In a shaded, whimsical café, lounge, and performance space called the StarWater Stage, I found delicious coffee and captivating surprises...

The mad dance that runs before my eyes. Life is nothing but inspiration. Even when trying to still oneself in meditation there is subtler and subtler awareness. To be a poet is to drink up all of life and filter it into a divine nectar of the Gods.